According to the research published here, one study pitted a Van Gogh painting, A Pollock painting, and a landscape photo. According to the article, "When the patient's medication use was charted, it was found that in contrast to the control group, the patients consumed slightly more medication while looking at Pollock's abstract work, suggesting that the art had made them anxious."

The article goes on to suggest that the cost difference in medicine between the three paintings was about $30,000 per year. Maybe this means one of an artist's targeted audience could be medical centers. A different audience for sure, but one just as worthy in the end.